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Project ID: 07-1-5-01

Year: 2007

Date Started: 06/28/2007

Date Completed: 09/30/2010

Title: Using a Physics-Based Model to Characterize Spotting Potential for Protection of the Wildland Urban Interface

Project Proposal Abstract: To provide critical spotting information to fire managers and the developers of operational wildfire behavior
models,a physics-baseds pottingm odel will be developed and used to characterize potential spotting hazard in
complex wildland urban interface( WUI) fires. The spread of large-scale fires is a result of two types of
phenomena contiguous spread and spotting. Spotting is the phenomenon by which burning material, called
firebrands, a relofted by the plume, transported via the fire-influenced wind field, and deposited to ignite new fires
ahead of the contiguous fire front. Spotting behavior depends on the strong coupling between fire, atmosphere,
topography, and fuels and is therefore difficult to characterize without adequate methods of accounting for this
coupling. Predictions of spotting can be achieved by integrating physical firebrand models into
HIGRAD/FIRETEC, a premier physics-based model for the prediction of contiguous fire spread. As a preliminary
research project, firebrand transport in simple wildfire scenarios was studied using physical models as a postprocessor
of HIGRAD/FIRETEC. Incorporating the firebrand model into HIGRAD/FIRETEC will provide a
mechanism to predict spotting locations in a wide range of conditions including rugged terrain, gusty winds, and
non-homogeneous fuels. The coupled effects of fuel types/conditions fuel heterogeneity, atmospheric wind
speed/gust/turbulence, topography, and human-made structures will be studied through the
HIGRAD/FIRETEC_SPOT model and be characterized. The knowledge obtained from this work will be practical
information for fire and land management personnel. The proposed work will significantly increase our ability to
assess risk, develop mitigation safety strategies ,and manage fuels in the WUI.